Farmer fined 2K for sheep cruelty

A central Victorian farmer has pleaded guilty to animal cruelty after failing to provide enough pasture for a flock of about 300 sheep.

The Department of Primary Industries (DPI) found several dead sheep and lambs when inspectors visited his farm near Maldon.

It had to destroy 23 ewes and three lambs after the inspection.

The Bendigo Magistrates Court has fined the man $2,000 without conviction.

The DPI's regional animal health manager, Rod Badman, says the drought is not an excuse to not feed animals properly.

"If they don't have sufficient feed in the paddock they've either got to provide feed or make some judgments about selling them off, in terms of finding new sources of feed or selling them off. It's as simple as that," he said.